The report lays down six principles for design and use of AI in healthcare globally, with caution
The past year or so has been a binge-watch of web series for many of us. I have been going through several episodes of Star Trek and a couple of them stand out for the ethical questions they try to tackle. Most Star Trek fans would be aware of an "Android" named "Data" aboard the starship Enterprise, filling in where humans or Klingons collectively failed. There are plenty of references to the marvel of artificial intelligence (AI) as exhibited by the android sentient,who has been manufactured to solve future issues for the human race. Most of the Star Trek episodes are from the 24th century and if we jump back to today in the real world, it is interesting to note that several of these futuristic developments have already started showing nascent signs of growth. Take for instance the recent report of the World Health Organization on'Principles of artificial intelligence'for guiding its design and use in health care. The report lays down six principles for the design and use of AI in healthcare globally. These principles define the roadmap for an extremely complex future ahead for artificial intelligence, to be sensibly used for the betterment of human society. The principles are designed by a bunch of individuals at the cross-section of science where philosophy meets metaphysics and ethics. The first principle is about protecting human autonomy,i.e., humans should remain in control of their healthcare and medical decisions with adequate safeguards for protecting extremely sensitive health data. The second, promoting human wellbeing, safety, and public interest, is having enough back data regarding the potential benefits of artificial intelligence to meet quality checks and future upgrade roadmaps. Now, artificial intelligence itself is a nascent field of research and there are few used cases to fall back upon about its effectiveness. To add regulatory and quality control on such technology would require some more years of consultation and data analysis before a near usable model isdeveloped.
The third principle is about the transparency of data regarding the design and deployment of artificial intelligence in healthcare. The fourth principle refers to responsibility and accountability. This brings human intervention back into focus where accountability is traced back to the individuals who deploy the technology. The fifth and sixth principles are more aligned with globally-accepted norms of human development goals and hence, talk about ensuring equity and inclusiveness, and promoting sustainable responsive artificial intelligence when deployed in the healthcare sector.
The report paints a picture of a future where many sensitive areas around the human body including the basic building blocks, the genes, can be treated or altered to produce healthier societies and eliminate life-threatening conditions from disease, pandemics, and climate change. However, there is a strict undertone of the same technologybeing misused and the algorithms doingthe reverse of what they were intended for. India is currently trying to develop principles on use of artificial intelligence in various aspects of human life from healthcare to education to mobility. India is also the founding member of the Partnership for Artificial Intelligence which decides the principles, use, design, and development of artificial intelligence. The pandemic has created an ideal case study for the collection and analysis of tons of data about early warnings of the pandemic and possible preventive measures to contain the impact. It is time for some government departments of health, science, information technology, and NITI Ayog to start putting together early drafts on AI in healthcare in India.
(The writer is a policy analyst. The views expressed are personal.)